The bronze statue was commissioned from the sculptor Antony Dufort in 2003 by the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art, under the then chairmanship of Tony Banks MP. It was agreed that Margaret Thatcher would be represented during her last term of office, 1987 - 1990, with the sculptor working from historic material as well as being given sittings from life.
The Chairman, and former Deputy Chairman, Hugo Swire MP, and Members of the Committee have overseen this project since 2005:
"This is a very significant commission for the House of Commons. It is entirely appropriate that Margaret Thatcher’s premiership has been recorded in this way for future visitors to the House. I think the way in which Antony Dufort has succeeded in showing her mid-debate will strike a chord with all those- from all sides of the political divide - who remember her oratory. I share Tony Banks’s view that history demanded this commission. I am only sad that he did not live to see the finished statue." Hugo Swire MP.
The Works of Art Committee is responsible for all aspects of the Parliamentary Art Collection, and follows an active policy of commissioning portraits in order to keep the Collection up to date. Efforts are also made to fill gaps in the historical collection where notable parliamentarians from the past are not represented. The management of the Collection is undertaken by a dedicated team of professional curators, led by Malcolm Hay, who support the Committee in their work.
The Parliamentary Art Collection already includes a number of images of Margaret Thatcher. During the 1990s a marble statue was commissioned by the Committee from the sculptor Neil Simmons, but this was damaged shortly after completion, when the head was vandalised. It was successfully repaired and is on public view at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London. Other representations of Margaret Thatcher within the Collection include portraits by Henry Mee and Ruskin Spear, one of the Spitting Image latex puppets by Fluck and Law, and a photograph by Jane Bown.